Freedom of speech in Ukraine in Oct 2025: IMI Barometer

The Institute of Mass Information experts recorded 21 freedom of speech violations in Ukraine in October 2025, with 14 committed by Russia, according to the IMI’s monthly monitoring study Freedom of Speech Barometer.

Russia’s crimes against media and journalists included murder of media workers and an assassination attempt, armed strikes at and wounding of journalists, damage to media offices, strikes at TV towers, cyber crimes, and legal pressure.

The Institute of Mass Information recorded significant losses for the media community in October: three media workers died while reporting and two more were injured. A new trend has emerged: Russian troops targeting journalists with drones such as Lancet or FPV away from the front line.

“This tactic suggests deliberate use of UAVs to target media personnel, which makes reporting even more risky and highlights the strategic threat to mass media representatives not just on the battlefield, but in areas adjacent to the front line as well. This creates a need for extra steps to protect journalists, such as anti-drone technology, special training and the arrangement of safe routes for reporters on the front line,” says Kateryna Dyachuk.

Russian forces killed five media workers in October, with three dying while reporting:

Antoni Lallican, a French photo journalist, killed in a Russian drone strike near Druzhkivka (Dontesk oblast) on 3 October 2025. Antoni Lallican covered social issues in conflict zones around the world. His pictures have been featured in Le Monde, Le Figaro, Libération, Der Spiegel, Zeit, FAZ, etc. He had been documenting the impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine since March 2022.
Alyona Hramova (Hubanova), war reporter with Ukraine’s international broadcasting channel Freedom TV. Killed in a Lancet drone strike by Russian troops in Kramatorsk (Donetsk oblast) on 23 October 2025. She and her crew were in a car at a gas station at the moment of the strike.
Yevhen Karmazin, cameraman with Ukraine’s international broadcasting channel Freedom TV. Killed in a Lancet drone strike by Russian troops in Kramatorsk (Donetsk oblast) on 23 October 2025. He and his crew were in a car at a gas station at the moment of the strike.
Oleksandr Urvantsev, killed in action in Kharkiv oblast on 7 October 2025. Cameraman with the Chernihiv-based Dytynets TV turned UAV operator.
Vadym Pidlypenskyi, serviceman, Ligamedia sales manager. Killed in combat near Lyman (Donetsk oblast) on 25 October 2025. Enlisted in the Ukrainian Armed Forces in 2024.

117 media workers have died in the course of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, with 15 dying while reporting.

Assassination attempt: a Russian FPV drone attempted to target Daphne Wesdorp, journalist with the Dutch news outlet Het Nederlands Dagblad, as she was filming the aftermath of a strike at the Holy Assumption Church in Kostyantynivka (Donetsk oblast). Oleh Petrasiuk, the liaison officer with the UAF Mechanized Brigade No. 24 who accompanied the reporter, spotted the drone and shot it down with a machine gun, averting the tragedy.

Journalists injured:

Ukrainian photo journalist Heorhiy Ivanchenko was wounded in the Russian FPV drone strike that killed his colleague Antoni Lallican. Ivanchenko’s leg was amputated after the injury, and he needs a long rehabilitation. Heorhiy Ivanchenko says the drone strike was deliberate.
Freedom TV special correspondent Oleksandr Kolychev was injured in a Russian Lancet drone strike in Kramatorsk (Donetsk oblast) on 23 October 2025. He and his crew were in a car at a gas station at the moment of the strike. Kolychev is now in a serious condition in the hospital. The strike killed his colleagues Alyona Hramova and Yevhen Karmazin.

Armed strikes at journalists:

Die Welt camera crew came under fire by a Russian Lancet drone while filming a news story about a Ukrainian air defense unit: the three journalists suffered injuries of various severity. The journalists were a few meters away from the army crew and clearly marked as press representatives.

Media offices damaged:

The buildings of the Suspilne Kherson were damaged in a Russian artillery strike on 7 October: a roof, windows, and a facade were damaged. There were no casualties, the team continued working as usual.
The Kyiv office of the newspaper Gordon was damaged in the Russian strike on 23 October. There was no one in the office, so no one was injured. However, the office is unfit for use now because there are no windows and the weather is cold.

Strikes at TV towers:

A TV tower in central Chernihiv was damaged in a Russian strike on 29 October. The Chernihiv City Council press office reported that works to stabilise the structure would begin shortly.

Russia’s cyber crimes:

Yulia Boychenko, journalist with the Mykolaiv-based online media outlet MykVisti, received a message that appeared to be an invitation to a non-existent NATO–UAF event and contained a phishing link disguised as a registration form. The link led to a page mimicking a Google form but created through a Russian registrar to steal data. The incident has been reported to the police.
The website of the Kharkiv-based media outlet Nakypilo was down for about an hour due to an intense DDoS attack early on 22 October. Chief editor Olena Leptuha said that the attack occurred as the team was releasing a news story about a Russian strike on a kindergarten. The team believes that Russian hackers were behind the attack.

Ukrainian media workers sentenced by Russian courts:

Yana Suvorova, an administrator of the Telegram channel Melitopol Is Ukraine, has been sentenced to 14 years in a low security prison. She was convicted of “terrorism” and “espionage” for pro-Ukrainian posts. Suvorova has been in Russian detention since August 2023.

See the full list of Russia’s crimes against media and journalists in Ukraine here.

IMI also recorded seven freedom of speech violations unrelated to Russia’s war on Ukraine. These included cases of physical attacks, obstruction of reporting, pressure, restricting access to information, and cyber attacks.

Physical attacks:

Ivano-Frankivsk photojournalist Yuriy Rylchuk was beaten by a young man on a scooter whom he had caught on camera; the journalist was injured, called the police and an ambulance.

Obstruction of reporting:

Serhiy Volovyk, a former employee of a Kharkiv territorial enlistment office, knocked the phone out of the hands of Suspilne Kharkiv correspondent Dmytro Hrebinnyk following a court hearing. The incident happened when the journalist asked Volovyk to comment on the court ruling.
Journalist Lyubov Velychko said she had faced pressure from Ibox Bank lawyers after taking photos, audio and video recordings during a hearing in the case concerning the bank. She took photos, audio and video recordings of the hearing, but the lawyers demanded she delete the footage and not publish it. Velychko considers these actions as psychological pressure and unlawful.
The editorial staff of Comments.ua say they have faced an orchestrated smear campaign following their reporting on Ibok Bank and LeoGaming. Anonymous Telegram channels and web resources shared false information about the news outlet’s owner Viktor Holdskyi, which the team viewed as an attempt at pressure and interference in independent journalism.

Online pressure:

Channel 24 host Daryna Trunova faced online attacks following her Facebook posts about the death of a conscript. She was insulted and called a propagandist in social media comments and private messages despite only reporting on facts and developments in the case on Facebook.
LIGA.net recorded a series of attempts to hack the website administration system targeting politics-related content, but the malicious actors failed to access the content and the team stepped up their defenses.

See the full list of freedom of speech violations in Ukraine in October 2025 below.

Russia’s crimes

Media workers murdered — 3

1. French journalist Antoni Lallican killed in targeted Russian strike

03.10.2025 Prominent French journalist and photographer Antoni Lallican was killed in a targeted Russian FPV drone strike on 3 October. Heorhiy Ivanchenko, Ukrainian journalist and freelance photographer, Ukrainian Association of Professional Photographers member, was working with him on the ground. He was wounded and his condition is currently stable, the Heavy Mechanized Brigade No. 4 reported in a Facebook post.

The brigade writes that both journalists were wearing personal body armor and their bulletproof vests had the PRESS identification marks.

According to IMI’s sources, the Russians struck the journalists near Druzhkivka village in Donetsk oblast.

“The enemy has once again cynically violated International Humanitarian Law. This incident once again confirms the insidiousness and cruelty of the enemy’s troops,” the brigade’s post says. “The Heavy Mechanized Brigade No. 4 expresses our sincere condolences to the relatives, friends, and everyone who knew the deceased Mr. Antoni Lallican. We also hope for Heorhiy Ivanchenko’s speedy recovery.”

The Ukrainian Association of Professional Photographers writes that Anthony Lallican was a Paris-based photojournalist who covered social issues in conflict zones around the world. He arrived in Ukraine in March 2022, right after Russia’s full-scale invasion. He has been documenting the impact of the war since then and has been working long-term with Donetsk oblast locals.

On 3 October, Ukrainian prosecutors opened a case regarding the murder of French journalist and photographer Antoni Lallican by Russian troops in Donetsk oblast and the wounding of Ukrainian journalist Heorhiy Ivanchenko.

On 5 October, France’s National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor’s Office (PNAT) opened a war crimes investigation into the 3 October drone strike by Russian troops in Ukraine’s Donetsk oblast, which killed the French journalist and photographer Antoni Lallican and severely wounded Ukrainian journalist Heorhiy Ivanchenko.

Фотографії Антоні Лаллікана публікували відомі французькі медіа, зокрема Le Monde, Le Figaro, Libération, Mediapart, Society, Paris Match, Les Echos Week End, La Viе, а також міжнародні видання: Der Spiegel, Zeit, FAZ, NZZ, Focus Magazin, Die Welt, Stern, TAZ, Le Temps, Der Standard, La Presse та інші.

Antoni Lallican has won various international awards, including the Prix Victor Hugo de la photographie engagée 2024; he has been shortlisted for the Lucas Dolega Prize 2024 and awarded JDD’s favori.

According to the Institute of Mass Information, Antoni Lallican is the 112th media worker to die in the course of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the 13th to be killed while reporting.

2. Freedom TV journalist Alyona Hramova (Hubanova) killed in Russian strike in Kramatorsk

23.10.2025 War reporter Alyona Hramova (Hubanova) with the Ukrainian international channel Freedom TV were killed in a Russian Lancet drone strike in Kramatorsk (Donetsk oblast) on 23 October 2025. She and her crew were in a car at a gas station at the moment of the strike.

Alyona Hramova was born in Yenakiyeve, Donetsk oblast. She was a war reporter for Ukraine’s international broadcasting channels since 2021. In June 2023, she was awarded the Princess Olha Order, 3rd rank. Alyona Hramova died aged 43.

The channel reported that the crew had arrived to film a news story about the Russian strike at the gas station that took place the day before, on 22 October. Then they were supposed to go to film the aftermath of a Russian drone attack at a market in Kramatorsk.

3. Freedom TV cameraman Yevhen Karmazin killed in Russian strike in Kramatorsk

23.10.2025 Cameraman Yevhen Karmazin with the Ukrainian international channel Freedom TV were killed in a Russian Lancet drone strike in Kramatorsk (Donetsk oblast) on 23 October 2025. He and his crew were in a car at a gas station at the moment of the strike.

Yevhen Kramazin was born in Kramatorsk, Donetsk oblast. He worked as an cameraman for Ukraine’s international broadcasting channels since 2022. Yevhen was 33.

Assassination attempts — 1

1. Army spokesman shoots down drone targeting Dutch journalist

28.10.2025 Oleh Petrasiuk, liaison officer with the UAF Mechanized Brigade No. 24, shot down a Russian FPV drone as it was about to strike Daphne Wesdorp, journalist with the Dutch news outlet Het Nederlands Dagblad, in Kostyantynivka (Donetsk oblast), the brigade reported in a Facebook post.

According to the brigade, Oleh Petrasiuk was accompanying the reporter as she was filming the Holy Assumption Church, destroyed by Russian shelling.

According to the Brigade No. 24, it was at that moment that a Russian drone tried to target the filming crew. Sergeant Major Oleh Petrasiuk spotted the drone and shot it down with a machine gun. This saved the lives of his comrades and the journalist, the brigade added.

The brigade posted footage of Oleh Petrasiuk shooting down the drone. In the video, the soldier explains to the journalist that it was a fiber-optic drone. He also advises her not to linger near the church and leave before the Russians try again.

Media workers wounded — 2

1. Journalist Heorhiy Ivanchenko wounded in Russian drone strike

03.10.2025 Heorhiy Ivanchenko, Ukrainian journalist and freelance photographer, Ukrainian Association of Professional Photographers member, was wounded in a Russian drone strike on 3 October. His condition is now stable. French journalist and photographer Antoni Lallican, who was working with him on the ground, was killed, the Heavy Mechanized Brigade No. 4 reported in a Facebook post.

The brigade writes that both journalists were wearing personal body armor and their bulletproof vests had the PRESS identification marks.

According to IMI’s sources, the Russians struck the journalists near Druzhkivka village in Donetsk oblast.

Ivanchenko’s leg had to be amputated; he has a long period of rehabilitation ahead of him. His coworkers have announced a fundraising campaign to support his treatment.

Heorhiy Ivanchenko, who was wounded in a Russian attack that killed his colleague, French journalist Antoni Lallican, wrote in a Facebook post on 8 October that it had been a targeted FPV drone strike.

He expressed his pain and sorrow over the death of his friend Antoni Lallican.

“It was a targeted strike with an FPV drone. I am alive. My leg has been cut off. My closest friend, brother, and mentor, Antoni Lallican, is dead. The trips with you were unique. You were unique. It hurts me that this happened, and I deeply sympathize with all your family and friends,” Heorhiy wrote.

2. Freedom TV journalist wounded in Russian drone strike in Kramatorsk

23.10.2025 Oleksandr Kolychev, special correspondent with Freedom TV, was wounded in a Russian Lancet drone strike in Kramatorsk (Donetsk oblast) on 23 October. He was hospitalised with injuries.

He and his colleagues were in a car at a gas station at the moment of the strike.

Oleksandr Kolychev is in serious condition. He has suffered an explosive injury, shrapnel wounds to the head, ribcage, and left hand, and an open bone fracture in his right shin.

Armed strikes at journalists — 1

1. Die Welt crew targeted by Russian drone in Ukraine’s East

28.10.2025 Die Welt camera crew came under fire by a Russian Lancet drone while filming a news story about a Ukrainian air defense unit, the media outlet’s war correspondent Ibrahim Naber reported in a Facebook post.

He said that one of the three servicemen, Kostyantyn, was killed, and another one was severely wounded.

Producer Ivan has had surgery, and cameramen Viktor Lysenko and Ibrahim Naber received minor injuries.

“The strike occurred in the East of Ukraine, around 25–30 km from the front line. The journalists were only a few meters away from the [army] crew, having just finished an interview. They were clearly marked as media representatives on the footage,” Naber said.

He added that cameraman Viktor Lysenko captured the moment of the strike and the first minutes after the explosion on video. These shots were included in the report documenting the Russian attack.

Naber also announced a private fundraising campaign for Ihor, a Ukrainian soldier whose leg had to be amputated after the strike. The journalists had interviewed him less than 30 minutes before the explosion. Naber donated 1,000 euros to start the fundraiser and called on his followers to support the soldier.

Media offices damaged — 3

1. Suspilne Kherson premises damaged in Russian strike

07.10.2025 The premises of Suspilne Kherson were damaged in the Russian artillery strike on 7 October. There were no casualties, Suspilne Kherson reports.

The branch manager Mykhailo Svarychevskyi said that they would contact the police regarding the incident.

“Due to the buildings being located in a dangerous area of the city (red zone), they are essentially on lockdown and are not used by the team. There are no casualties. We see damage to the roofs, window blocks, and the buildings’ facades. We will contact law enforcers to record the impact of this crime by the Russian Federation,” he said.

The broadcaster reports that their Kherson neam continues to work as usual, informing their viewers and listeners of the regional and national news.

As reported earlier, Vadym Khomenko, chief engineer at Suspilne Kherson, was injured in a Russian “petal mine” explosion in downtown Kherson on 22 September 2025. He suffered severe injuries to his leg but was quickly hospitalised and had surgery thanks to his colleagues’ prompt action; his condition is now stable. It was later reported that the explosion happened on Suspilne Kherson premises, which employees (who mostly work remotely) visit every now and then as the equipment remains in the office. The Russian troops plant mines on the Suspilne Kherson premises by dropping anti-personnel mines such as “petals” from drones. This was reported following a SES inspection, which revealed several more mines on the broadcaster’s premises. Even though the office was cleared of mines after the de-occupation, new mines suggest a deliberate attack on media infrastructure. The office was temporarily shut down in response for safety reasons and Suspilne stepped up the protection of their staff in the regions near the front line.

2. Gordon office damaged in Russian strike on Kyiv

23.10.2025 The Kyiv office of the newspaper Gordon was damaged in the Russian strike on 23 October, chief editor Alesya Batsman reported in a Facebook post, elaborating in a comment to Institute of Mass Information journalist Valentyna Troyan.

“I’m going to reply to everyone who is worried and texted me in private here. Friends, everything is fine, thank God, there was no one in the office, so no one was injured. The windows were broken and that’s it. Here is the aftermath of the damned Russian Shahed hitting the Gordon office,” wrote Alesya Batsman.

In a comment to IMI, she clarified that the office is unfit for use now because there are no windows and it is cold.

“The windows were broken. Some of the frames were ripped out, some were blasted out along with the glass. Inside, the damage is minimal, paintings, photos fell from the walls, the plaster flaked off, some wall tiles cracked. You can not work in the now-windowless rooms, because it is cold,” said Gordon chief editor.

3. Pivdenna Zorya office damaged in Russian drone strike in Nikopol

28.10.2025 A Russian FPV drone strike on Nikopol (Dnipropetrovsk oblast) on 28 October damaged the editorial office of the local newspaper Pivdenna Zorya. None of the media workers were injured, chief editor Inna Shvydka reports to the Institute of Mass Information representative in Dnipropetrovsk oblast.

According to Inna Shvydka, the drone hit the corner of the building on the side where the newspaper’s office is located.

“It’s good that the drone attack occurred in the evening this time, when there was no one in the office. And again, like in 2022, the only window in our office was damaged. This FPV drone hit the corner of the building, right on our side. And the shell had some very weird stuffing: it pierced the glass, the film, and the plywood panels, damaged the interior door to the hallway and the furniture. Most importantly, it flew through everything and exploded in the hallway. You can see more damage there. This is most likely some new type of ammunition, it ‘flies’ differently than a regular shrapnel piece,” she said.

The chief editor added that the household appliances in the office had taken some damage. As with the previous strike that the office suffered in 2022, the team does not plan to install a new window, because they consider it impractical. Nikopol and the Nikopol district have been under constant shelling for the past three years since the start of the full-scale invasion.

“As I wrote in my July article, on the third anniversary of the start of the regular shelling of Nikopol, ‘this is how an iron spirit is tempered.’ And so it is, because, in my opinion, prolonged exposure to shelling builds character,” Inna Shvydka said.

Strikes at TV towers — 1

1. Russian strike damages TV tower in Chernihiv

29.10.2025 A TV tower in central Chernihiv was damaged in a Russian strike on 29 October, the Chernihiv City Council press office reported in a Facebook post.

The press office added that works to stabilise the structure would begin shortly.

“We ask the people of Chernihiv not to come close to the television tower and only stay without a 200 meter radius from it. Following these recommendations is the key to your safety,” the message reads.

Earlier, Andriy Kanashevych, chair of the Kupyansk District Military Administration, reported that the Russian forces had destroyed the television tower in Velykyi Burluk (Kharkiv oblast) by targeting it with a Shahed drone on 7 September.

Cyber crimes — 2

1. MykVisti journalist receives phishing invitation to non-existent NATO–UAF event

13.10.2025 Yulia Boychenko, journalist with the Mykolaiv-based online media outlet MykVisti, received a message that appeared to be an event invitation and contained a phishing link disguised as a registration form.

The journalist spoke about the incident with Kateryna Sereda, the Institute of Mass Information representative in Mykolaiv oblast.

On 13 October, the journalist received a message in Signal inviting her to a “closed charity party” in Kyiv. The message, screenshots of which the journalist shared, claims that the event is organized by the “Kyiv administration” and asks not to share the link to the registration form with anyone “for safety reasons.”

When Yulia asked what the event would be about, she was told that it would be attended by the Ukrainian Armed Forces commanders, NATO representatives, and top regional officials.

“As for the event, all the details are in the invitation, and, as per the event protocol, a person is supposed to learn the details on their own; I can only tell you that there will be top UAF commanders, several regional leaders, representatives of NATO charity foundations, and others present, I want to see you as an experienced journalist, because although the event is closed, it should be reported on after the fact,” the message says.

In order to access the journalist’s data, the malicious actors impersonated the Pershyi TV chief editor Viktor Medvid, using his photo and name.

The MykVisti team has contacted law enforcement bodies with a statement about the incident.

The link that was supposed to lead to a Google registration form turned out to be fake. The page mimicked an official Google service but opened on the forum-connect.online domain, registered in August 2025 through a Russian registrar and hidden by the proxy service Cloudflare.

An Urlscan check designated the link Potentially Malicious: the screenshot shows a clone of the Google login interface and the technical data suggests that the page loads external JavaScripts that process the entered data and may send it to third-party servers. The secure connection icon in the address bar here does not mean that the site is genuine: encryption only guarantees that the connection is encrypted, but does not confirm the authenticity of the resource’s owner.

2. Nakypilo website sustains intense DDoS attack

22.10.2025 The website of the Nakypilo media group was down due to a DDoS attack early on 22 October. The site was receiving so many requests that it stopped functioning for about an hour as the protection services were struggling to fulfill their task. Nakypilo journalists reported this to Yulia Napolska, the Institute of Mass Information representative in Kharkiv oblast.

Nakypilo chief editor Olena Leptuha said in a comment to the IMI representative that the news outlet was covering the aftermath of today’s strike on a kindergarten by Russian troops when the cyber attack on the website occurred. The team is inclined to think that the attack was carried out by Russian hackers.

Leptuha says that the DDoS attack intended to “take down” the website by overloading it with requests: to deny access to it to both users and the administrators.

“And the enemy did somewhat succeed in this — the website was down for an hour. The amount of requests was such that even the built-in systems and services that we use could not cope as usual. The Cloudflare service did not cope, either,” adds Olena Leptuha.

However, the technicians quickly responded to the attack and the website is already up and running.

Legal pressure — 1

1. Melitopol Is Ukraine channel admin sentenced to 14 years in prison by Russia

23.10.2025 Yana Suvorova, an administrator of the Telegram channel Melitopol Is Ukraine who has been in Russian detention since August 2023, has been sentenced to 14 years in a low security prison. The sentence was issued by the Southern District Military Court of Rostov-on-Don (Russia) on 23 October.

Yana Suvorova was convicted under the Russian Criminal Code articles on “organising a terrorist group and involvement in it”, “acts of terrorism,” and “espionage”. Data on the sentence was reported by the Southern District Military Court in Telegram.

The court found the Telegram channel administrator guilty of involvement in a “terrorist group as a web resource administrator” who “edited the posts, managed the subscribers, and published pro-Ukrainian content” on the channel.

Yana Suvorova was also convicted of “committing an act of terrorism.” The court claimed that Suvorova and “other members of the terrorist group collected and verified data on the location of Russian military personnel and law enforcement officers using the Telegram channel, a Telegram feedback bot, and a chat bot,” which resulted in “a missile and bomb strike targeting buildings and structures of Russia’s Federal Security Service and the Rosguard Directorate in Zaporizhzhia oblast” in February 2023.

The ruling has not yet entered into force and may be appealed in the court of appeal, the report says.

Yana Suvorova is on the Institute of Mass Information’s list of 26 Ukrainian media workers unlawfully detained by Russia.

Yana Suvorova was detained along with other channel administrators for RIA Melitopol and Melitopol Is Ukraine in August 2023. Back then, the Russian forces hacked the Telegram channel of the Ukrainian news outlet RIA Melitopol, which continuted to operate even after the occupation of Melitopol (Zaporizhzhia oblast). Melitopol Mayor Ivan Fedoriv reported that several other pro-Ukraine Telegram channels that had been “restlessly reporting the terrible truth about life in the TOT and constantly being threatened by the occupiers” had been hacked as well.

The freedom of speech situation in Ukraine unrelated to Russia’s war

Physical aggression

Attacks, beatings — 1

1. Young man attacks correspondent in Ivano-Frankivsk after being caught on camera

14.10.2025 Ivano-Frankivsk photojournalist Yuriy Rylchuk was attacked in Ivano-Frankivsk. As the reporter tells Suspilne, he was beaten by a young man on a scooter whom he had caught on camera. The police have opened a case regarding the incident.

Yuriy Rylchuk says he was attacked late on 14 October on Lyubomyr Huzar Street. He was taking pictures of the road, and a scooter that was passing by got into the frame.

“There were ditches along the road, lanterns, such interesting contour lighting. Far away, a guy and a girl were passing by on a scooter. A black scooter, not a rented one. I took a picture. They drove past me, and I crossed to the other side, heading home. And then this guy turns around and starts punching me with his hands and feet without any warning. If I hadn’t covered my face, he would have broken my nose and jaw,” Yuriy Rylchuk said.

The journalist managed to knock the young man to the ground and escape. He ran into a supermarket and called the police and an ambulance.

“We drove to the hospital. They did an X-ray and stitched up my head. The next day I was applying for a sick leave. Then I was ‘nursing’ an order for a forensic medical examination. I wanted to record the injuries as soon as possible, but with all that bureaucracy I only managed to do it on 17 October,” says Yuriy Rylchuk.

The journalist adds that there were security cameras at the scene of the attack.

“I’m sure he can be identified. There were two working cameras there, directed at an angle: one facing right, the other facing left. I asked the store employees, they said the cameras were working. Moreover, after the fight, I accidentally picked up his blazer from the ground but left my hat behind. It would be easy to involve service dogs and find the attacker by smell,” said the journalist.

The police reported that proceedings had been opened for inflicting bodily harm on an Ivano-Frankivsk man, currently classified under Part 1 of Art. 125 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (intentional minor bodily harm).

“On 17 October, an Ivano-Frankivsk man aged 58 filed a complaint with the police and reported that an unidentified man had caused him bodily harm on Zaklynskys Street due to a suddenly arising hostile relationship,” the police reported.

They added that a forensic medical examination has been ordered in the case to determine the severity of the injuries sustained by the victim.

“At this time, the police have reviewed and analyzed the security camera footage and are working to identify the person involved in the crime. The investigation is underway,” the police said.

Obstruction of legal reporting — 2

1. Former enlistment office employee knocks phone out of Suspilne journalist’s hands in courtroom

07.10.2025 Serhiy Volovyk, a former employee of a Kharkiv territorial enlistment office who was convicted of beating a history teacher on 7 October, knocked the phone out of the hands of Suspilne Kharkiv correspondent Dmytro Hrebinnyk, Suspilne Kharkiv reports.

This happened when the journalist asked Volovyk to comment on the court ruling after the trial. The incident was recorded on video.

The phone was not damaged by the impact. Having swung at the phone, Volovyk did not stop and continued walking.

On 7 October, the Saltivskyi District Court of Kharkiv city passed a ruling in the case about the beating of a history teacher by an enlistment office employee in May 2025. The court found former enlistment office employee Serhiy Volovyk guilty of hooliganism and sentenced him to three years in prison.

2. Journalist Lyubov Velychko reports pressure following her reporting on Ibox Bank case

09.10.2025 Journalist Lyubov Velychko says she has faced pressure from Ibox Bank lawyers after taking photos, audio and video recordings during a hearing in the case concerning the bank’s co-owner Alyona Shevtsova. She has received demands not to publish the material, Velychko reported in a Facebook post and commented to Detector Media.

The Kyiv Court of Appeal closed the proceedings in the case against Ibox Bank co-owner Alyona Shevtsova and two former managers, Iryna Tsyhaniuk and Zoya Nesterovska, 2 October 2025. The three were charged with organising illegal gambling and laundering 5 billion hryvnias.

The court ruled to close the case due to the statute of limitations for the pre-trial investigation having expired since the suspicion notices were served. Velychko, who took pictures of the hearing and recorded it on audio and video, reported facing pressure attempts by Shevtsova’s lawyers.

In a letter that the journalist shared with the news outlet, lawyer Anton Honcharuk demanded that Velychko immediately cease using any photo or video material depicting Alyona Shevtsova and her lawyers, Artem Svytko and Andriy Davydchenko.

He asked not to publish or distribute any material (articles, photos, videos or social media posts) made during the 2 October hearing. The letter also contained a demand to remove the material depicting the aforementioned individuals from the websites owned by LLC Future Media, Mind.ua and other platforms if they have already been published there.

The lawyer cited Article 308 of the Civil Code of Ukraine (the right to an image of a natural person), as well as Articles 23 (the right to free development of a person) and 32 (inviolability of privacy) of the Constitution of Ukraine.

In turn, Lyubov Velychko said that if a hearing was not held in camera and there was no decision to ban photography and filming, a journalist has the right to film it.

“A person’s consent to the public display of their image is assumed if the filming is done in public places or during public events. A court hearing is a typical example of a public event wherein a person is consciously taking part in public activity,” she wrote on Facebook.

At the same time, the journalist told the news outlet that she had submitted a request to participate in the hearing as a Future Media LLC (Mind.ua) representative.

“I sent them a letter saying that I was working on a journalist investigation featuring the individuals and companies involved in the trial. And I warned that I would be taking photos and videos of the hearing, since it was public. During the hearing, the lawyers objected to my taking photos and videos, alleging that I had not provided them with any contract proving that I was working for this specific media outlet. But the judges decided not to bar me from taking photos and videos, so I have documented the entire hearing,” said Velychko.

The journalist believes that by forbidding her to release this material the lawyers are trying to put psychological pressure on her so that she does not report on topics related to Alyona Shevtsova in the future.

“It seems to me that by publicly speaking out about this I am already letting them know that I will not be silent about such actions on their part. Perhaps they are trying to intimidate me and psychologically pressure me so that I do not touch any topics related to their client at all. Besides, five years ago she (Alyona Shevtsova. — Ed.) tried to sue me for my investigation into money laundering and acquiring schemes. But she later withdrew her lawsuit against me from the Brovary City District Court, changed her mind about suing me,” said Velychko.

The journalist adds that she did not expect that the lawyers would prohibit her from publishing information, photos, and videos from an open court hearing.

“Speaking in terms of Ukrainian law, this is a completely illegal demand. I don’t understand whether they realise it or not, but I am inclined to think that they do, which is why I consider it psychological pressure. Because they have no prospects from the legal point of view to ban me from taking photos and videos. Even if they take it to court, no Ukrainian court will be able to rule that I violated any articles of Ukrainian law, because I act exclusively within the framework of the law and the Constitution of Ukraine,” said Velychko.

The Bureau of Economic Security previously reported that Alyona Shevtsova, Iryna Tsyhaniuk, and Zoya Nesterovska are hiding abroad and are wanted.

“Since the Kyiv Court of Appeal has ruled to close the case, this essentially means that all search for them should be suspended until another court of cassation passes a ruling, which, I hope, will happen in the near future,” said Lyubov Velychko.

Lyubov Velychko reported on 27 October 2020 that she had received threats following her investigation “Working for Russia, Offshores, and ‘Wholesale Computers’: Online Casinos Working in Ukraine”, which featured Alyona Shevtsova’s company.

Alyona Shevtsova wiled a UAH 1 million defamation lawsuit against Lyubov Velychko and LLC Future Media (Mind.ua). The first hearing in the case was scheduled in the Brovary District Court of Kyiv oblast on 9 February 2021.

On 30 July 2021, the Supreme Court dismissed Alyona Shevtsova’s claim and upheld the ruling by the Kyiv City Court of Appeal in the lawsuit against Mind’s publisher, LLC Future Media. The Court of Appeal found, and the Supreme Court confirmed, that most of the information reported by Mind did not concern the plaintiff and, accordingly, did not violate her personal non-property rights; some of the information was value judgments that could be refuted on account of being the author’s subjective opinions, not facts, and the remaining information was confirmed true by the written evidence available in the case.

Censorship, curated agendas, access to information

Access to information — 1

1. Khmelnytskyi City Council denies access to ZHAR.INFO

31.10.2025 Khmelnytskyi City Council declined a query by ZHAR.INFO with a request for the findings which specialised departments provide for the draft decisions submitted for review. The media outlet plans to appeal the decision, ZHAR.INFO founder and editor Maria Turchyna reports to Alyona Bereza, the Institute of Mass Information representative in Khmelnytskyi oblast.

The team sent the query to the City Council on 14 October 2025, asking for the findings for six draft decisions (now decisions). On 20 October, the Department for Ensuring the Work of the City Council responded with a refusal to provide these documents, saying that the information is considered official secret as per the mayor’s amended 27 November 2019 decree No. 287-R.

“Documents containing information that is considered official are classified as ‘for official use’. Access to such documents is provided in accordance with Part II of Article 6 of this Law,” the department’s response stated. “There are no legal grounds for providing findings by specialized departments,” it added.

Tetyana Oleksiyuk, vice-president of the Council of Europe Access Info Group said that the response was unlawful because the information holder did not substantiate it with a three-step test.

“The information being classified, included in the List of Information for Official Use (IOU), or falling under the definition of one of the categories of official information is not a basis for a refusal. Each specific case of refusal warrants a three-step test, an assessment the potential harm from the dissemination of this information and the public interest in the information, and a conclusion on the balance of interests,” she said.

According to the expert, the information holder is allowed to compile IOU Lists and classify documents — this is possible (where appropriate) to maintain the regime of access to information — but the reply to a query must contain the three-step test findings.

The media outlet added that they plan to file a complaint with the parliamentary Commissioner for Human Rights to challenge the information holder’s actions.

Online pressure

Cyber attacks — 1

1. LIGA.net reports continuous hack attempts

15.10.2025 LIGA.net recorded a series of hack attempts targeting the website administration segment in recent days, the media outlet reported on 15 October.

According to the LIGA.net IT team, these are not one-off incidents but coordinated attempts to access the website’s internal management tools. Most often, the attackers try to hack politics-related pages, for instance, hashtags such as “Putin”. This suggests that the goal is to compromise or damage the content structure of the website.

“This is not the first time we have encountered cyber pressure. The IT team is promptly responding to all suspicious activity, building our defenses, and conducting a security audit,” said Natalia Koteneva, CEO of Ligamedia, which includes LIGA.net.

Koteneva says that the content has not been accessed without authorisation, the website is working as usual, and the readers’ security has not been compromised.

“We view these attacks as confirmation that independent journalism remains a threat to those who fear the truth. We continue to work stably and openly,” added Natalia Koteneva.

The team stresses that this is not the first time they have been targeted in a cyber attack. The team earlier observed waves of DDoS attacks following their news stories that triggered a strong response in society. This time, the attackers switched tactics: instead of trying to “down” the website, they are attempting to access its internal systems.

Other types of online pressure — 2

1. Comments.ua faces pressure after reporting on Ibox Bank

13.10.2025 The editorial staff of Comments.ua say they have faced an orchestrated smear campaign targeting the media outlet and its owner Viktor Holdskyi over the past two weeks. The news outlet released a statement on the matter on 13 October.

The team said that several anonymous Telegram channels and resources were spreading false information about Holdskyi, noting that the campaign was systematic and premeditated.

“This campaign began immediately after we shared the stories by RBC Ukraine covering the activities of IBOX BANK, LeoGaming, and Alyona Shevtsova. We consider this as an attempt to pressure and intimidate the news outlet and its owner in response to their professional reporting,” the team said.

The media outlet added that the attack consisted of “unfounded allegations about Viktor Holdskyi’s ties with former politicians from the Party of Regions era.”

“The team categorically denies such statements, views them as manipulation, and considers anonymous and false posts about the news outlet’s owner to be an attempt at pressure and interference in independent journalism,” the news outlet emphasized.

Comments.ua pointed out that they were not the only media outlet targeted in a mudslinging campaign, mentioning RBC Ukraine, which faced an organized smear campaign after reporting on the case against activist Nazariy Husakov, which feautred IBOX BANK and LeoGaming.

Comments.ua added that investigative journalist Lyubov Velychko has also said that Alyona Shevtsova’s lawyer attemoted to put psychological pressure on her to prevent her from reporting on the Kyiv Court of Appeal’s ruling to close the case regarding the legalization of UAH 5 billion.

The news outlet called on:

the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Freedom of Speech to create a Temporary Special Commission to consider the issue of pressure and smear campaigns against independent media in Ukraine;
law enforcement bodies to investigate the organized smear campaign against the media;
the National Council for Television and Radio Broadcasting and the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine to assess attempts at information pressure on the media;
the journalist community to unite in order to defend the rights and freedoms of journalists in Ukraine;
the public to be critical of anonymous sources of information such as Telegram channels and news websites not registered in accordance with the legal procedure, and to check their facts.

“Freedom of speech and independent journalism in Ukraine must be protected by the authorities, especially in times of war, when truthful information is critically important for society,” the Comments.ua team stressed.

The online news outlet RBC Ukraine faced a targeted pressure campaign and obstruction of legal reporting following their news story about the activist Nazariy Husakov in July 2025.

Journalist Lyubov Velychko said on 7 October 2025 that she had faced pressure from Ibox Bank lawyers after taking photos, audio and video recordings during a hearing in the case concerning the bank’s co-owner Alyona Shevtsova. She received demands not to publish the material.

2. Channel 24 host faces online harrassment after reporting on conscript’s death

22.10.2025 Channel 24 host Daryna Trunova faced online attacks on 22 October following her Facebook posts about the death of a man who was taken for a medical examination by enlistment center representatives. According to her, he suffered a traumatic brain injury and died in the hospital shortly after.

The journalist covered the incident in her posts, writes Women in Media, which triggered a wave of harrasment against her.

A news story by Daryna Trunova about the situation, titled “Death in an enlistmen center! New details of the tragedy. Listen to what the enlistment center says. Immediate response” was posted on Channel 24 YouTube on 24 October 2025. Trunova also shared the video on her Facebook page.

User Oleksiy Osker wrote his own post about Trunova, calling her “a rep-whore-ter and a TV host from Channel 24, or the slutathon, milking a man’s murder by the enlistment officers for clout.”

Daryna Trunova clarified to Women in Media that Channel 24 was not featured in the United News telethon. “But people don’t care about that,” the host said.

Along with posts and comments under her posts, users also began to text her in private. The screenshots provided by the journalist show messages calling her a “mic stand,” “infusoria,” and a “telethon propagandist.”

“Last week, before the death of my friends’ son, I recorded a comment from a Kyiv oblast enlistment center representative. We tried to debunk the myths surrounding enlistment centers, and I was asking him provocative questions so that he would weigh in on the ‘busification.’ People twisted everything, claiming that I defended the enlistment center at first and then was commissioned by someone to criticise them,” explained Daryna Trunova.

In a comment to the Institute of Mass Information representative Valentyna Troyan, Daryna Trunova said that she was mostly being attacked by bots or people unknown to her. She saw no point in contacting the police at that juncture.

The circumstances of Roman Sopin’s death are being investigated, the Kyiv police reported in a Facebook post.

Defending freedom of speech

The authorities’ response to freedom of speech violations — 2

1. Kolo chief editor loses appeal in lawsuit against former Poltava City Council secretary

06.10.2025 Tetiana Tsirulnik, chief of the Poltava-based news outlet Kolo, lost the appeal in a lawsuit against the former Poltava City Council secretary Andriy Karpov, whom she had sued for cyberbullying.

Tetyana Tsyrulnyk reproted this to Nadia Kucher, the Institute of Mass Information representative in Poltava oblast.

On 30 September 2025, the Poltava Court of Appeal dismissed Tsirulnik’s motion to cancel a ruling by the Oktyabrskyi District Court of Poltava, which rejected her defamation claim against Karpov.

“My appeal was dismissed, that is, the 18 April 2025 verdict by the Oktyabrsky District Court was upheld. The appeal court believes that the first instance court failed to prove that the defendant’s (i.e. Karpov’s. – Ed.) actions had been unlawful,” said Tsirulnik.

The journalist added that, according to the Poltava Court of Appeal ruling, the plaintiff (i.e. Tsirulnik) failed to prove that the contested information was supposed to be a statement of fact and not a value judgment that concerned the Kolo.News journalist and editor personally.

“While resolving the dispute, the first instance court reasonably pointed out that some of the statements that the plaintiff associates with her reporting and considers unlawful are value judgments, which, among other things, contain ironic statements that border on sarcastic ones and are not directed at an individual,” the journalist quoted the appeal court’s ruling.

“’A person who is not stating a fact but expresses their own views, criticisms, assumptions, cannot be forced to prove their truthfulness, since this is a violation of the freedom to hold one’s own point of view, which is recognised as a fundamental part of the right protected by Article 10 of the Convention.’ That is, Andriy Karpov alleging that I wrote that he had penis surgery is his personal point of view which he is entitled to,” Tsirulnik said.

The appeal court ruling also states that Tsirulnik did not exercise her right to a re-examination to correct perceived irregularities.

“Even though the expert who conducted the examination has since quit and it will be difficult to find her now,” Tsirulnik said.

The journalist added that the court ruling stated that witness testimonies could not refute the experts’ conclusion.

“That is, the expert whose examination findings can be interpreted either way (in particular, in the part where she decided not to analyse the comments), quit and will be difficult to find now, and the objectivity of my three witnesses has been found questionable. I will go to the Supreme Court with the support of the Zmina Human Rights Center,” says Tetyana Tsirulnik.

In February 2023 the editor-in-chief of the Poltava website “Kolo”, Tetiana Tsirulnik, has filed a lawsuit against Poltava City Council secretary Andriy Karpov after facing cyber bullying over her article about Karpov.

In her defamation lawsuit, the journalist demanded that Karpov’s post be recognized as degrading to her honor and dignity, that the part of the official’s post where he claims that journalists are lying about his salary by alleging it exceeds 100 thousand hryvnias, be recognized as misleading, and that she be compensated for moral damage, which she estimated at 100 thousand hryvnias.

An October 26 news report titled “The price for 8 years of Vata Show: Poltava City Council secretary Andriy Karpov is raising money for an operation,” had a reference to the official’s Telegram channel, where he wrote about his treatment and the fundraising campaign. Karpov posted this article on his social media, having taken screenshots from the “Kolo” website. The official accused the journalist of distorting the truth, claiming that she had written a news article with the headline “Karpov is raising money for penis enlargement/reduction surgery.” After that, Karpov’s supporters started humiliating and insulting the journalist in the comments under his Facebook post.

2. Soshychne community head to be tried for withholding information from Syla Pravdy journalist

15.10.2025 Soshychne community head, Ihor Volosiuk, will be tried for refusing to provide the information requested by Syla Pravdy journalist Iryna Kravchuk. A representative of the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights reported an administrative offense by the official to the Kamin-Kashyrskyi district court on 2 October, reports Syla Pravdy. The community leader may be fined for withholding information about the budget funds allocated to support the Ukrainian Armed Forces, as per the letter by Oleksandr Korniychuk, the representative of the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights in Rivne oblast.

In June 2025, Syla Pravdy journalist Iryna Kravchuk submitted queries to all 54 communities in Volyn, asking how much money each community had allocated to support the Defense Forces. The information was necessary for the study “How Volyn communities helped the Ukrainian Armed Forces in 2024”. All communities except Shshychne provided a reply.

The village council officials promised during a phone call with the journalist to provide the requested information later, but never followed through, forcing Iryna Kravchuk to report a violation of her right to access information to the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Dmytro Lubinets.

Oleksandr Korniychuk, the Human Rights Commissioner in Rivne oblast, reported in a response letter that he had summoned the Soshychne village mayor Ihor Volosiuk for explanations but was ignored.

“In order to ensure the violated right is restored, the village mayor was invited to provide explanations regarding the violation of the Law and to draw up a protocol on an administrative offense. As of 02.10.2025, the village mayor failed to appear at the appointed time, sent a letter notifying that he would be absent, but provided no supporting documents to explain the reasons for his failure to appear as instructed. In view of this, on 02.10.2025, a protocol on an administrative offense under Article 188-40 of the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses was drawn up and sent to the Kamin-Kashyrskyi District Court of Volyn oblast,” the Commissioner’s letter says.

The administrative code article in question (failure to comply with the lawful requirements of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Commissioner for Human Rights or the Commissioner’s representatives) calls for a fine of 1,700 to 3,400 hryvnias.

As the news outlet notes, this is not the first time that the Soshychne village council has ignored requests for access to public information. Last year, Syla Pravdy requested the same information in an official letter, but was denied as well. After the journalists contacted the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Commissioner for Human Rights, the village council provided a response.

Freedom of Speech Barometer for October 2025